Gitlow vs New York Essay -- communism, freedom of speech, criminal anar

In the twenty century, the U.S society was in the period of tending to be a human base society. The laws in America were introduced to create a fair and regulated society for its citizens. The First and Fourteenth Amendment of Constitution granted that the U.S citizens have the freedom of speech. And the New York State had its law of Criminal Anarchy Act since 1902 for â€Å"organized government should be overthrown by force or violence, or by assassination of the executive head or of any of the executive officials of government, or by any unlawful means (n.p).† The citizen in the any state of the U.S should always both obey the state law and follow the national constitution. Otherwise, the citizen would get corresponding punishment for jail, community service or even death for most states. However, the case of Gitlow vs New York happened in 1925 that majorly argued about the U.S citizens’ guaranteed freedom of speech in the First Amendment of Constitution and the New Y ork State’s Criminal Anarchy Act. Gitlow vs. New York is a case that influences the integrity of U.S legislative system importantly. In the 1925s, Benjamin Gitlow, a left wing socialist, published speeches of anti-government to advocate a new better communist government. His action caused the charge as unpopular and dangerous speech for the whole society from the New York state government, and his behavior became a court case. According to the website thefreedictionary.com, that â€Å"The opinions expressed in† â€Å"The Revolutionary Age† and â€Å"The Left Wing Manifesto† â€Å"formed the bases for the defendant's convictions under Sections 160 and 161 of the penal law of New York, which were the criminal anarchy statutes† (n.p). â€Å"The Revolutionary Age† and â€Å"The Left Wing Manifesto† ar... ... his action could actually be really harmful for the society. Gitlow defended him as not guilty merely depends on the part of the context of the First Amendment of Constitution about U.S citizens’ freedom of speech. It is actually make a deliberate misinterpretation out of the context. Gitlow’s claims that he is innocent might because of his less awareness and misunderstanding of the laws. Or, he might believe that the faults of the Constitution would help him escape from the punishment. However, in my point of view, Gitlow fail to consider the primarily goal of the U.S Constitution that is to protect the best profit of its majority. Bibliography http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Gitlow+v.+New+York http://principlesofafreesociety.com/freedom-of-speech/ http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_nonfiction_the_ayn_rand_column